ESGR celebrates 43 years of support

WASHINGTON, June 22, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- June 22 marks the 43rd anniversary of the founding of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a Department of Defense office. With that in mind, it seems appropriate to reflect on the things this organization has accomplished over the past year.

To put things simply, we've accomplished a lot. We have continued to inform and educate Service members and their civilian employers regarding their rights and responsibilities under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, which in 1972 established rights and responsibilities for members of the National Guard and Reserve and their civilian employers. During the past fiscal year, our team of more than 4,600 volunteers from committees in each of the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia put in a total of more than 240,000 hours, which adds up to a nearly $5.4 million return on investment. When combined with more than 1,800 USERRA cases positively resolved, and the cost avoidance of $6.1 million in legal costs, our volunteers provided $11.6 million in savings to our government in FY14.

From an advocacy standpoint, our State Committees greatly improved support for employers, Service members, and their families, obtaining many Governors' proclamations supporting Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week and underlining the enduring importance of the ESGR mission.

We recognized our most supportive employers. That support ran from the local level all the way to the top of the Defense Department, with then-Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel providing the keynote address at the annual Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award ceremony, recognizing 15 of the most supportive employers in the Nation.

We continue to educate employers and Service members about ESGR and our mission. Over the past 12 months, ESGR volunteers coordinated more than 6,400 outreach events. Our public presence grew, with more than a quarter million visits to the ESGR.mil websites. Hundreds of unit briefs and mobilization events influenced approximately 414,000 military Service members.

Our mediation efforts have also paid dividends. Our volunteer ombudsmen, more than 650 of them, managed more than 16,000 USERRA-related inquiries and 2,374 assigned cases in the past fiscal year, 1,824 of which were successfully resolved.

As we mark another effective year for ESGR, I'd like to recognize and say thank you for the leadership, dedication and unselfish service provided by our volunteers and professional staff members. Your work is just as important now as it has been since 1972. ESGR remains committed to building and maintaining relationships between our National Guardsmen, Reservists and their employers.

43 years and still going strong ... We All Serve!

Contact: Maj. S.J. Brown, (571) 372-0692

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150617/223990

SOURCE Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve